Another surprising and saddening loss this week: Alan Rickman, the British actor who played the villain in the first “Die Hard” movie, Professor Snape in the “Harry Potter” series, and the quiet but fiercely loyal Colonel Brandon in “Sense and Sensibility”. You can see those roles and some of his others in this short “in memoriam” clip by CNN:

That voice!

Benedict Cumberbatch is famous for his ability to mimic Rickman. Here he is with Jimmy Fallon having a little fun. It’s a form of respect, no?

And speaking of Harry Potter, here’s a great review of the third movie and why it’s the best in the series:

Everyone’s shocked by the passing of David Bowie yesterday at the age of 69. Here’s a very comprehensive collection of links from the BBC.

He was one of my favorite singers and starred in a really fantastic, thought-provoking movie called “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.” The movie includes two of my favorite songs (or rather, two versions of one of my favorite songs): “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” by Ryuichi Sakamoto and the version with vocals, “Forbidden Colours” by David Sylvian.

Bowie, Sakamoto and Beat Takeshi starred in the 1983 movie, which was directed by Nagisa Oshima. If you’ve never seen it, this might be a good time to go rent it. The Japanese title is 「戦場のメリークリスマス」. Here’s a trailer: